By Business & Finance 
John Phelan co-founded Advise with Dr Kevin McCarthy to enable manufacturers in the FMCG market to grow their revenues and margins through the company’s AI-powered SaaS platform, uniquely processing sales, inventory and customer data from multiple retailers to drive better pricing strategies.
By Héloïse Chaudot
What was your first job?
My very first job was working as a cel painter for Sullivan Bluth Animation Studios, where I painted the backs of acetate cells for films like The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go to Heaven.
I then set up my own animation studio in London, before running a games studio in Chicago. From there, I gradually transitioned into start-ups and funding for early-stage companies.
What are your main priorities and goals in your current role?
As Commercial Director of Advise, my primary goal is to drive our global sales strategy, securing investment and developing resources to fuel business growth.
What pushed you to pursue a career in this field?
The challenge. Working with brilliant people, doing something interesting and at the same time, solving a massive problem for the highly competitive FMCG industry.
We initially launched the business with our first customer three weeks before COVID hit. It was a tough time as it took us nearly two years to get a second. Since then, we have grown substantially and continue to grow.
There’s something incredibly rewarding about seeing the impact of your hard work come to fruition.
How do you motivate yourself and your team?
Achieving great and difficult things is very satisfying. It’s beautiful to see what Kevin McCarthy, my co-founder and Techie, delivers.
Every time the goal posts shift in the tech world, Kevin comes up with something that goes beyond what any other company is capable of creating or delivering. That’s what keeps my team and me motivated.
In one sentence, how would you define success?
Staying calm in an increasingly mad and anxious world while balancing a career, family, friends, sport and art.
How do you relax?
My passion is sailing, and I enjoy competing on the water, whether in big boats or single-handed dinghies. I also love to paint!
What is your favourite (non-business) book?
I love reading, so my list is endless! For fiction, Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie definitely stands out. And for biographies, South! The Story of Shackleton’s Last Expedition 1914-1917 by Ernest Shackleton is a must-read.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Always go the extra mile to help someone (friend or customer). The goodwill will come back to you in spades when you really need it.
How do you handle adversity?
Ignore the noise and concentrate on bringing the people who matter the most with you on the journey. Keep your head down and be clear on what the end goal is.
What are the aspirations for the future of the business?
We see Advise as having a unique advantage in the Gen AI market.
Thanks to our robust infrastructure and eight years of building a proprietary data model, we are now able to power our own Navigator (think Co-Pilot) capabilities.
In contrast, as far as we can tell, many competitors are simply creating wrappers on top of ChatGPT, which offers less differentiation and raises data privacy concerns. As such, we are positioned to be a leading force within the data analytics market.
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